Man of the House

Ryan was on an overnighter with the scouts (winter camp). Apparently he had a chat with Finley about how he would be gone and that Finn would have to step it up as man-of-the-house. Let me tell you, he took this new role very seriously. He came into my bedroom with Berlin to wake me up. Then tells me that Berlin specifically asked him if she could watch Star Wars IV and since dad said he was man of the house now, he told her it was ok. I was a bit skeptical about how that really went down with Berlin, but just as I look at him, he gives me the thumbs up, and says, "I'm an awesome dad huh."

I have to say, that it was pretty great. I got him to clean up his toys, help Berlin get a drink, get dressed without a fight, put away his dirty clothes, and more - just by mentioning that these are man-of-the-house chores. So yes, he was an awesome "dad."

my little man of the house

Thermometer

So, I need to ask a question to all the moms and dads out there ... We need a new thermometer for the kids. Any recommendations? The ones we've had over the past 5 years are the cheap kinds that and honestly never work (mostly because my kids hate having to stick it under their tongue or under the arm and we never get a correct reading). I really need to just get a good one but don't know which ones to look at.

Dear Delta

A few months ago I called to make sure we had enough miles to send our family of 4 to Germany this Fall. All was well. This morning I called to redeem those miles and was told we were short miles. What? Two months ago, it cost 240,000 miles for our family, now it's 360,000 miles? What the *#$%! .... Apparently, over the past couple months you felt it necessary to re-vamp your Skymiles program and in doing so, have screwed up our plans. Now we have to plan for Germany in Fall of 2011 (that is if you don't increase the mileage requirement again). And yes, once that trip is over, we will be canceling our Skymiles credit card and of course we will be using other airlines for our future travel needs. You guys suck.

Anticipation

For the past 7 months I have been doing our laundry at the laundromat. When we started our basement remodel we donated our washer and dryer to some Somalian Refugees. The laundry room has been done for a few months now, but because we, along with a gazillion other people, bought our new machines on the Black Friday sale at Home Depot (yeah - WAAAAY back in November), we were put on a waiting list. The BIG day is almost here though. They are supposed to be delivered this Saturday! I . CAN'T . WAIT! I'm so giddy with anticipation. Having these beauties in my laundry room and not having to frequent the laundromat anymore is going to be heavenly.

Our little Boo-Bird slideshow

turned 3 this weekend. and I've been thinking a lot lately about her birth (how freakin' easy it was) as well as the blessing Ryan gave her. I've read over it a couple times this past week and so many of the things he said are so very true.

"That you may have a wonderful friendship with all of us especially with your brother Finley. That both of you may always watch out for one another. We also bless you with a relationship of trust and love with your parents. And that you will always bring peace and joy to them...."

Warning to the reader, this is a LONG post. So bear with me. But Boo is all of the things above and more. She truly is a good sister and friend to Finley. She loves him and watches out for him in every way. She always makes sure that if I buy her a treat at the store while Fin is at preschool, that I get him one too. She is so good at sharing her toys with him and giving him loves when his feelings are hurt. She takes after me and loves to just have me hold her an rub her back, her arms, her legs (she most definitely takes after me in this regard.) I love when she showers me with kisses for no reason, snuggles with me on the couch, and makes goofy faces at the dinner table. She is so fun to talk to, sings the silliest songs of her own making, loves to dance, and be chased around the house. I'm not saying she's easy & perfect. There are days when she overwhelms me; especially when she demands a lot of personal attention - it can be wearing at times. But she makes it worth our while by doling out smiles, giggles, and lots of laughter. I wouldn't trade her for anything. I am so grateful for her spunky personality, the sassy crusty looks she gives people, and her sense of humor. I love my little Boo-bird.

Here she is at her bday party today. We had little sunbeams over to celebrate Ballerina Style. After getting the girls all dolled up with ballerina crowns, new tutus, nail polish, and lip gloss, we sat down and read Angelina Ballerina. They acted out all the twirly whirly actions in the story. Then we had a mini ballet class where we learned 1st, 2nd and 3rd position, plies, curtsies, arabesques etc. Then they got to dance their little hearts to Disney princess music. After cupcakes, oranges, grapes, and M & M's the girls got their bounce on downstairs in the basement. It was a riot. And a big thanks to my sister Val for helping glam up the girls.

After her party we met up with some of my family at the Spaghetti Factory (our kids' favorite place to eat). I asked them to sing to Berlin for her birthday and boy, do I wish I had remembered our video camera. As the 4 waiters and our whole table sang to her, she stared straight ahead, stone cold sober, with the biggest crusty look on her face. She was SO. NOT. HAPPY. For a second there I really thought she would cry, but she didn't. She just glared down all of us (as we chuckled at her) and the folks at the table across from us. It was hilarious - though I'm sure she'll make me pay for it later. This picture, though taken at her party, shows exactly how her face was at dinner when we sang to her. I love this picture.

Then we came home and had a nice quiet evening opening a few presents from Finley, Ryan, and I. Here she is opening those. I would say that her favorite is the Snow White dress-up. She threw a ROYAL fit (see, I told you she would make me pay for that little singing stint at dinner) when I told her she couldn't sleep in it. An hour later after tears, crying, swearing she wasn't tired, and saying mean things to me, she finally relented and put on a nightgown and went to bed. Good to know she loves it. And despite the fit, I still love her.

Time Flies ... slideshow

I finally charged my camera battery, which has been dead for some time, and found these cute pics on the memory card. I totally forgot that I had them on there.

January - The first Monday of each month the Museum of Natural History up at the U is free. So Ryan and I took the kids and met up with some friends of ours. The kids had a ball. I loved that it wasn't that crowded. Even better, we went to the Pie afterwards and ate some YUMMY salad & pizza. Yum yum.

February - We took the kids down to the "free" part of the Clark Planetarium at the Gateway. It was a little more crowded than we had expected, but the kids enjoyed it none-the-less. Finley loved the Newton's Dream ball coaster and watched it with Ryan forever. He didn't like the full sized astronaut suit - said it was scary. But both kids loved the big Moon, the Mars walk, the Moon walk, and the weather station.

February - Berlin's birthday is this weekend, but we celebrated with Ryan's side of the family at FHE this past Monday. Here she is with Lynne in the "hot seat", blowing out her candles on top of her strawberry cupcake trifle, and showing off her princess tiara, wand, and sash from Aunt Teecee. Berlin is very excited to have her first official big-girl party this weekend.

Dear

Indiana Jones Legos (Wii) developers. I would like to say thank you for the "Poo Treasure" reward/bonus item. However, I cannot. For though my kids think that this is the funniest thing they've ever seen or heard of, I am now quite tired of listening to them SCREAM, "It's a poo treasure after all," (to the tune of "It's a Small World") all day long.

(click here to see Poo Treasure feature in action)

I'm hooked

on ZUMBA ... it is so much fun!!!

I'll admit, I was really REALLY nervous about going for the first time last night. I kept thinking I'd be the lame old lady in the corner of the room looking like a dork. But instead I was pleasantly surprised to discover that 50% of the people were moms my age and older. And then I found myself not only keeping up with the 16-18 year old teenage girls, but doing better than most. That's right, this 34 year old momma of two's inner cheerleader busted out tonight. Who knew I could still throw it down like I did 18 years ago? Isn't it amazing how little things like this boost our self-esteem? Silly, but it did. I'm already looking forward to next Tuesday.

Here's to feeling 16 again.